Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 337 Another Team

When the leader met Li's gaze, he felt a chill run down his spine.

He introduced the people on the ground to Li, the guard, saying, "These people are also a group that makes a living by robbing others."

Upon hearing this, Guard Li did not respond, but continued to stare at the leader.

His probing gaze seemed to be trying to dig out something from the eyes of the key figure that the other party was subconsciously trying to hide.

Li Huwei now looks like a completely different person.

Previously, when the three of them encountered the group led by the leader, Guard Li did not say much, but his current silence was somewhat different.

Although he didn't say much before and doesn't respond much now, it seems to outsiders that this is very much in line with his personality.

But actually, he didn't speak before because he felt that the more he said, the more mistakes he would make, and he didn't know what to say.

But this silence is different from before.

The way he's not speaking now makes him seem quite at ease.

Previously, when facing the core group of people, he felt that saying too much would only lead to more mistakes, so it was better to observe the other party more.

Now, when facing his mentor, his gaze appears sharper and his eyes more mature.

Ever since his battle with the steward and his return from that courtyard, he seemed like a completely different person.

Such a change in him is difficult for others to observe without careful observation.

Even so, it is still easy for those close to him to notice, such as Guard Liu.

As soon as they met, Guard Liu noticed this change in Guard Li.

He couldn't quite put his finger on what changes Li Huwei had undergone, but he felt that Li Huwei was now much more composed, as if he had become a completely different person.

What Guard Liu didn't know was that Guard Li had just gone through a life-or-death struggle. Just before, he had been on the verge of death. Although Jiang Xian had pulled him back from the brink, he could never forget the feeling of being close to death.

Many martial artists, after experiencing life-or-death trials and surviving with only a breath left, are like reborn, having to start over, and thus able to see things more clearly.

When the leader met Li's gaze, he naturally knew what that gaze meant, so his tone of voice became increasingly cautious.

He then said to Guard Li, "Their team was established earlier than ours, but they haven't accomplished anything significant."

"He did a lot of bad things, including petty theft, but ultimately he was unlucky and didn't accomplish anything 'big'."

At this point, fearing that Guard Li might retaliate against him, the leader added a few more words, saying, "We people have no other choice. We have no one to rely on, and we don't have any skills to survive."

"If you want to survive, this is the simplest and most direct way."

That's a good point. Directly robbing or stealing from others is naturally the most straightforward path.

But it was also the riskiest path. Li, a fellow martial artist, looked down on the actions of the core members of the group.

In comparison, Li Huwei, though also a martial artist, was able to work for the Jiang family with his own hands and feet, earning some rewards and elixirs to improve himself.

Even after he came to the Jiang family, he had a safe haven where he could escape the storms of life. He was very content and lived a happy life.

If he can do this, then the core members, who are also martial artists, have absolutely no need to live by sneaking around.

Of course, his own thoughts are ultimately just his own thoughts; he cannot change other people's thoughts, nor does he know what other people are really thinking.

Many things are unpredictable.

If Jiang Xian and his group hadn't encountered this core group today, the outcome might have been very different.

Perhaps others have tried it too, but they haven't encountered such a good employer, nor have they encountered a family like the Jiang family that treats them so well.

However, what Li Huwei didn't know was that before their leader took them in, most of them were just ordinary people, not martial artists from the start.

The core members are considered among the lucky ones in their team.

They successfully became martial artists, but many more teammates, lacking the aptitude and ability to protect themselves, died young.

Guard Li raised his eyebrows again, almost unconsciously.

In his view, Li Huwei's actions seemed to indicate that Li Huwei wanted him to continue speaking.

Following Li Huwei's raised eyebrow, the leader continued, "Our two teams don't interact much. We only team up to help each other out when we encounter something difficult. Otherwise, we don't have much contact."

"The relationship between the two teams is not very good. They only turn to the other team or cooperate with the other team when they encounter a problem that they really cannot solve on their own. Apart from that, the two teams almost never interact on minor matters."

At this point, Guard Li finally understood the implication of what the "backbone" was saying.

Aren't "some difficult things" just tough nuts to crack?
They themselves cannot bear the consequences, yet it appears they are cooperating with others so that others can share the benefits.

But in reality, isn't it just that they're afraid of being unable to swallow the big fish and hurting themselves, so they might as well let others have a taste of the soup while also getting others to do the work?
However, since the team that has now been wiped out was established earlier than the team led by the core members, why did they only engage in petty theft according to the core members, and not "grow and expand"?
Li, the guard, had some questions about this, but he kept them to himself and asked the leader instead, "Are all the people here?"

Upon hearing this, the leader immediately turned around, walked to the side of the small hill, and began to search the ground one by one to confirm the identities of the group.

After a long while, he grabbed a handful of blood from his hands and roughly smeared it on his body.

After tidying up briefly, he said to Guard Li, "The people in charge are all here. As for the others in their team, I don't know them all, since the two teams don't interact much. I do recognize a few of the older members who joined the team a long time ago. But as for how many new members there are in their team, it's hard to say."

After the leader finished speaking, Guard Li stared at him intently, scrutinizing him closely.

The person he trusted seemed to be telling the truth.

(End of this chapter)